Viola Davis to Tavis Smiley: ‘That Mindset You Have is Destroying Black Artists’

Oscar-nominated actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer had a passionate discussion with Tavis Smiley on Thursday.

The interview was more of a heated debate but it offered insight in to the minds of both actresses and how they feel about the criticism ‘The Help’ has received.

It’s a must see interview.

“That very mindset that you have and that a lot of African-Americans have is absolutely destroying the black artist. The black artist cannot live in a place—in a revisionist place—a black artist can only tell the truth about humanity and humanity is messy, people are messy,” Davis told Smiley.

“We as African-American artists are more concerned with image and message and not execution, which is why every time you see your images they’ve been watered down to the point where they where they are not realistic at all, it’s like all of our humanity has been washed out,” Davis went on to say.

Read this online at http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/02/viola_davis_to_tavis_smiley_in_debate_that_mindset_you_have_is_destroying_black_artists_video.html

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